Wayne Messam 2020 presidential campaign
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Wayne Martin Messam (born June 7, 1974) is a former American football wide receiver, businessman, and politician serving as the mayor of
Miramar, Florida Miramar is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 134,721. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to approximately six million people. History Miramar wa ...
, a position he has held since 2015. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, he was first elected to the Miramar City Commission in 2011 before defeating incumbent mayor Lori Cohen Moseley in the 2015 election. Messam is also a general contractor and owner of a construction firm. Messam ran for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the
2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
. He officially launched his campaign on March 28, 2019. He suspended his presidential campaign on November 20, 2019, having failed to qualify for any of the Democratic debates.


Early life, education, and football

Messam was born in South Bay, FL to Delsey and Hubert, who were born in Jamaica, where his father was a contractor for cutting
sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
before they immigrated. After graduating from Glades Central High School in
Belle Glade, FL Belle Glade is a city in south-central Florida and it is the far western part of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 17,467. Bel ...
, Messam attended
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
, where he played as a wide receiver for the
Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...
from 1993 through 1996. He was a member of the 1993 national championship team and caught 62 passes for 793 yards and four touchdowns during his college football career as a Seminole. He graduated from Florida State in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems. After not being selected in the
1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...
, Messam signed with the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
as an undrafted free agent and was released on August 4 of that year.


Career

Messam started a construction company in 2007. He was first elected to the City Commission of
Miramar, Florida Miramar is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 134,721. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to approximately six million people. History Miramar wa ...
in 2011, and was elected as the city's mayor in 2015, defeating incumbent Lori Cohen Moseley and former vice mayor Alexandra Davis with 38.5% of the vote after vacating his commission seat. He won re-election on March 12, 2019. Messam serves as president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.


2020 presidential campaign

In early 2019, some sources indicated that he was considering a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, which he neither confirmed nor denied, stating that "all options will remain on the table." On March 13, 2019, he announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a potential run and formally announced his candidacy nine days later. His campaign received $43,531 in campaign donations in the first quarter of 2019. In April, he was accused of failing to pay his staff. On June 28, he told ''Fortune Magazine'' that lack of money had kept his campaign from receiving national attention. Messam's third quarter fundraising report initially declared that he had received only $5 in income, and had spent $0. Messam claimed that the low amounts were attributable to a "computer glitch." Messam later corrected these amounts to state that he had received $15,312 in income and spent $10,678 during the third quarter. His year-end quarterly reports showed that between the beginning of the fourth quarter and the end of his campaign, Messam received no money in contributions. Messam suspended his presidential campaign on November 20, 2019. He did not qualify for any Democratic debate and was not classified as a "major candidate" by outlets such as '' FiveThirtyEight''.


Electoral history


References


External links


Presidential campaign website

Official site at City of Miramar
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Messam, Wayne 1974 births Living people 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American politicians African-American mayors in Florida African-American candidates for President of the United States American athlete-politicians American politicians of Jamaican descent Businesspeople from Florida Candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election Cincinnati Bengals players Florida Democrats Florida State Seminoles football players Florida State University alumni Mayors of places in Florida People from Palm Beach County, Florida Players of American football from Florida Sportspeople from the Miami metropolitan area